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EPA LOOKING FOR LEADERS FOR NEW ENGLAND LIVABLE COMMUNITIES PARTNERSHIP

Release Date: 10/12/1999
Contact Information: Amy Miller, EPA Press Office (617-918-1042)

A dozen business and environmental leaders who are serving on the executive committee of the New England Livable Communities Partnership held their first meeting today, Oct. 12, at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Boston.

This 36-member committee is being formed to guide regional and state activities in New England aimed at combating sprawl. At today's meeting, the partnership discussed the role of the group and how it can best serve as a resource to promote livable communities. The 12 founding members of the committee also discussed the process for selecting individuals to fill the remaining slots.

The partnership took shape as a direct result of EPA-New England's smart growth conference, held last February in Boston, which was attended by more than 1,000 business, political and environmental leaders. At that time, EPA's New England Administrator John P. DeVillars called sprawl "the number one environmental issue facing New England" and suggested the importance of forming a partnership.

Among those who have agreed to serve as founding members of the committee are: Douglas Foy, president of the Conservation Law Foundation; Wendy Nicholas, director of the Northeast office of the National Trust for Historic Preservation; John Ewing, director of the Vermont Forum on Sprawl, and David Begelfer, executive director of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties. Members are chosen for their interest and knowledge as it relates to sprawl.

"We are looking for a strong collection of creative thinkers and doers who will provide critical input on the tools and policies we need to address unchecked and unplanned development in New England communities," said DeVillars. "Through these and other smart growth efforts, we can make New England a national model for livability in the 21st Century."

"Turning the tide against sprawl will require broad agreement on ways to help people who are fed up with clogged roads, dispiriting subdivisions and strip malls and vanishing open space, said Douglas Foy, of the Conservation Law Foundation. "We must transform their cities and towns into places we'd all want to live. The partnership is a solid step in the right direction."

"The problems associated with growth are complex," said Begelfer, of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties. "Through participation in forums like the Livable Communities Partnership, diverse interests can be brought together to discuss concerns and solutions, hopefully leading to a lasting impact on truly sustainable development."

The partnership will meet quarterly to bridge the gap among the many local smart growth efforts in New England and to generate ideas on how to revitalize urban centers, help suburbs grow in smarter ways, and protect rural areas. Finally, the partnership will give input to member organizations and other groups involved with land use policies.

Also invited to serve on the committee were: Whitney Hatch, regional vice president of the Trust for Public Land; Robert Mitchell, president of the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Planning Association; Anne Meyers, co-chair of the Boston District Council of the Urban Land Institute; Dennis Wolkoff of the Nature Conservancy; Jamie Hoyte of Harvard University; Armando Carbonell, senior fellow of the Lincoln Land Institute, and representatives from each of the New England states.

Anyone with a background in smart growth issues who wishes to be considered for the executive committee is invited to send a one-page letter of interest and a resume to: Carl Dierker, Regional Counsel, EPA, One Congress St., Suite 1100 (RCA), Boston, MA 02114-2023.